Saturday, September 19, 2015

The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett

"Deep in the Chalk, something is stirring. ¬The owls and the foxes can sense it, and Tiffany Aching feels it in her boots. An old enemy is gathering strength.
This is a time of endings and beginnings, old friends and new, a blurring of edges and a shifting of power. Now Tiffany stands between the light and the dark, the good and the bad.
As the fairy horde prepares for invasion, Tiffany must summon all the witches to stand with her. To protect the land. Her land.
There will be a reckoning. . ."

A bitter sweet book to read. On the one hand I was super excited as it is the newest Terry Pratchett disc world book, on the other hand it is the last book that will ever be published. It is sad for me that I will not have a Pratchett book to look forward too or purchase ever again, or get a chance to meet him. Pratchett books have been a part of my life for around 20 years.

This book wasn't actually finished when Terry Pratchett died, I am not sure who finished the book off but you could tell the parts Pratchett wrote and the parts another author wrote. Even though I think they did a valiant effort to make the writing styles as seamless as possible. I feel for the writer who was asked to fill in the gaps, it must have been a monumental challenge.

Regardless I still loved this book. We have all the Witches back, the Wee Free Men and an array of old and new characters. I liked the character development of Tiffany as her storyline reflects what most young women (and people) experience when their training is finished and they begin in their chosen careers. Trying to form their own identity and their own establish their own style.

Geoffrey is a great character and I enjoyed his story that deals with sexism and change (he wants to be a witch but only women can be witches). Which mirrors the same themes explored in "Equal Rites" of a woman becoming a wizard. I am sad we won't see Geoffrey again.

There were laughs to be had and I will admit to a few tears, as well as a "no why? why has that happened" yelled at the book. The usual Pratchett wit and insight into human behaviour is present which won't disappoint fans.

I found that this book was a fitting end to the Discworld series and to Terry Pratchetts life with the passing of one of Discworlds most loved characters. I don't want to give away too much but I won't lie that it had me crying as I read the scene. It is a book about change, life and death, and a final farewell from the Pratchett.